Finished last night:

DEXTER BY DESIGN by Jeff Lindsay, 2009.
This is the fourth of Lindsay's thrillers about Dexter Morgan, the blood spatter analyst who is also a serial killer who hunts down & kills other serial killers. This story involves Dexter in a case of already-dead bodies being mutilated and displayed around Miami in alarming ways; Dexter's cop sister Deborah is stabbed during the investigation; Dexter murders the guy he believes is responsible for the stabbing but is mistaken. Dexter and his family are targeted by the dead man's lover; meanwhile, his sister Deborah has time to mull over certain information about Dexter; and Dexter realizes how close he is to having his true identity revealed by several sources. An interesting plot, snappy dialogue, and good interaction between Dexter and his sister and his wife Rita; however the ending is a little too neat for me. A good read, though, and I still think Dexter is a funny, likable guy.

Finished on 9/8/09:

EVIL AT HEART by Chelsea Cain, 2009.

I couldn't turn the pages fast enough, it just flew. This suspense/thriller/chiller has detective Archie Sheridan in the hospital, serial killer Gretchen Lowell on the loose, and dead bodies and body parts everywhere, not Gretchen's handiwork, but possibly a copycat or worse, a Gretchen Lowell cult. All the regulars are here, including Archie's colleague/friend Henry Sobol, and Susan Ward the reporter/journalist. There's plenty of gore, blood, and bizarre situations to give you the creeps, and the finale that involves Archie, Gretchen, and Susan is plenty exciting, plus the stage is set for the next book. A quick, fast paced read, but not quite as satisfying a read as the previous books.

I stayed up late last night to finish

SWEETHEART by Chelsea Cain, 2008.

The pages just flew by in this thriller, which is a follow up to Heartsick. I just could not read it fast enough, I was so totally enthralled and wanted to find out the ending. And of course, Cain leaves it open for the next book, which is due out this fall. Storyline concerns Portland, Oregon, detective Archie Sheridan, who is obsessed with the creepiest serial killer ever, Gretchen Lowell, who was caught and imprisoned for life (in the previous book). In return for revealing info on the locations of her murdered victims (some 200 people), she is imprisoned & Archie visits her monthly. Now Archie is trying to put his life together, has sworn off visiting her, and move on. A woman's dead body found in a park gets him involved in another murder case, which ends up being tied to Gretchen, plus reporter Susan Ward, anxious to get notoriety for her crime reporting. Things heat up again when Gretchen manages to escape and threatens the safety of everyone he cares for. Top-notch entertainment, a real thrill ride that keeps moving. I don't read a lot of this type novel, but occasionally they just hit the spot. Cain keeps the plot moving at a pace and delivers the goods so you're not disappointed. If you're into crime thrillers, this is an excellent choice.

Finished on 7/14/09:

THE BLACK TOWER by Louis Bayard, 2008.
An excellent historical mystery concerning the son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, who was incarcerated in the Black Tower, and after his parents' deaths, allegedly died there a short time later. This story, set in 1818, involves Vidocq, the chief of the Parisian plainclothes police force, who is on the trail to find out if this prince has somehow survived death. A murdered man has been found with a paper on him containing the name of Hector Carpentier, and that's where Vidocq's search begins. This Hector is the son of another Hector Carpentier, who was the prince's sympathetic physician in the tower. These two characters become involved in a dangerous and tangled quest to find out the truth of what actually happened to the prince: is he dead or alive? Where is he? Who is he? And who is behind the series of attacks and murders against those who are out to either discover or conceal the truth of the matter? Great details of Restoration France, intriguing historical premise, fast paced narrative, and colorful characters (Vidocq is definitely interesting), make this a good read.

Finished reading 7/3/09:

CITY OF THE SUN by David Levien, 2008.

Swiftly moving thriller about the taking of an 12 year old boy, Jamie Gabriel, while on his paper route one morning. To the police and his parents, he has vanished without a trace. The father, Paul, hires Frank Behr, a p.i. with police connections to track him down and find out what happened to him, as the parents want some kind of closure. Behr, working with the slimmest of clues, begins the hunt. Paul wants to be more involved in the investigation, and Behr and Paul form a kind of uneasy bond and work together to solve the case. The whole investigation leads them down paths no one wants to follow.

The unsavoriness/seaminess of the subject matter could be a stumbling block: it is repellent, but at the same time intriguing and makes for a thrilling story. Definitely a page-turner.